Electronic components have been packaged in carrier tapes provided with cavities for receiving the components and covered with foil. G. J. Scholten et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,676 discloses an example of a carrier tape having cavities for accommodating electronic components. A covering tape secured to the carrier tape encloses the electronic components within the cavities. The covering tape is a hot-adhesive material that is welded by heat to the opposite edges of the carrier tape. Additional tapes for storing electronic components are disclosed by J. F. Ball in U.S. Pat. No. 4,781,953 and J. H. Thomson et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,427.
D. B. Chenoweth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,393 discloses microchip carrier tapes having lateral and transverse ridges and support members extended angularly between adjacent ends of the ridges in the bottom of pockets to retain microchips in the pockets. A microchip in each pocket is located on the support members to elevate the microchip above the bottom wall of the carrier tape. The ridges restrict lateral and longitudinal movements of the microchip so that the leads extended outwardly from the body of the microchips do not engage any part of the carrier tape. A cover tape heat sealed to the longitudinal flanges of the carrier tape retains the microchip on the support members and restricts vertical movements of the microchip in the pocket.
D. B. Chenoweth and T. B. Zbekowski in U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,835 disclose a heat sealing apparatus operable to heat seal longitudinal edges of a cover tape to the side flanges of a carrier tape and heat seal separate portions of the cover tape to the bridges between adjacent pockets in the carrier tape. The bridge seals limit in and out movements of the cover tape relative to the pockets so as to confine and limit movements of the microchips in the pockets.
An integrated circuit known as an electronic flat pack or microchip 24, shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, has body 25 encapsulating the electronic circuits and connectors or leads 26. One or more microchips mounted on circuit boards are connected to printed circuits through leads 26. The circuit boards are designed to be relatively small in size with the microchips and other electronic components crowded together into the smallest compatible space. The lateral or outward extend of leads 26 is minimized by having leads 26 extend downwardly from the edge 38 of body 25 as shown in FIG. 2. The outer peripheral walls 39 and 40 of body 25 tapers outwardly terminating in peripheral edge 38. A small inverted V-shaped space 41 is between leads 26 and wall 40. This space is too small to accommodate the inverted V-shaped ridges of the carrier tapes disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,427 and 5,152,393. The microchip 24 does not rest on the shoulders adjacent the ridges as the space 41 between leads 26 and wall 40 cannot accommodate the width of the inverted V-shaped ridges. The leads 26 engage the ridges making these carrier tapes incompatible with the structure of microchip 24.